Q. My husband and I both have wills and living wills prepared in Louisiana. Are they acceptable in Texas?

A. Probably. Wills written in Louisiana, however, are so different from wills written in every other state that you should consider replacing them with Texas wills.

Q. My divorced, childless sister died without a will. I have been appointed independent administrator of her estate. She had a company retirement account, but the attorney for the company refuses to acknowledge or return correspondence. Calls go to voice mail and are forwarded to an extension that is too full to accept messages. Do I have any recourse?

A. This sort of probate is about as complicated as probates get, and most people would not be able to proceed as independent administrator without legal representation.

If you don't have a lawyer, you may have to hire one to handle this project for you. Ask your lawyer to call or write the company's attorney.

If you still receive no response, you should ask your lawyer whether court involvement is warranted.

Q. My husband and I have been married for 14 years. When we got married, I had two individual retirement accounts, one left to me by my deceased husband, and one of my own. I also had money in certificates of deposit. These accounts have always been in my name only, and my husband has never contributed to them. He is very ill and soon may need long-term nursing home care, which can be paid from other funds that are in both of our names. If this money runs out, would I be required to use the money in my separate accounts to pay for his care before he could receive Medicaid?

A. The answer is maybe. Spouses have an obligation to provide support and care for each other.

But there are steps you can take to structure your estate so that as much of your property as possible is protected. This type of planning falls into a field called "elder law" and many attorneys in Houston work exclusively in this area. Without more information, it's not possible to say what options are best for you.

You can find someone to advise you by typing "elder lawyer Houston" into an Internet search engine, or you can find one at www.nelf.org or www.naela.com .